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Dear List,

Back in November, I wrote about my younger daughter Kimberly, and how I
thought she was becoming a celiac.  My older daughter Elizabeth has been GF
for nearly 4 years.  At the time of Elizabeth's diagnosis, Kimberly's blood
tests were negative.  A few months ago I noticed she wasn't feeling well, or
looking well, and suspected CD.

The pediatrician found that she had only gained 1/2 pound in 10 months.  The
pediatric GI found traces of blood in her stool, and her blood test results
were inconclusive, sort of in the not-negative, but not-positive range.  A
few weeks of Zantac didn't help anything (not that I thought it would), and
she continued to deteriorate as we continued to add gluten to her diet.  She
had a biopsy last week, and the doctor said that her bowel looked normal; the
scalloping that can be visible wasn't present.  The doctor called last night
with her lab results, which he said were a defininte maybe.  The villi looked
normal, but the tissue around them was inflamed.  Her enzyme levels were off,
lactase was below normal, and the others were on the bottom end of the normal
range.  He felt that these results were consistent with her blood tests.  I
have had her GF since her biopsy and she has improved, although the decreased
enzyme level would account the stomachache she has after she eats.  We have
decided to treat these results as the early stages of CD.

Sorry to make this so long, but I think that sharing stories like these helps
all of us.  I am very thankful for the wonderful medical care that Kimberly
has, and for the incredibly supportive community of the this list.

Wendy
Chatham, NJ